Trust in the Lord, and do good;dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord,and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:3-4

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Ready for Spring?

We crocheters all know that if we want to stitch up something fun for the holidays, the key is to plan ahead. So it only makes sense to start posting Easter patterns in February (plus it might help take my mind off the dreariness of an Illinois winter).
When I was growing up, one of the Easter traditions in our church was started by an older parishioner (who actually probably wasn't nearly as old as my childish memory thinks she was) who used to give all of the children in the church an Easter Egg cozy shaped like a chicken. (For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, an egg cozy is a knitted or crocheted sleeve that wraps around your plastic egg to decorate it, with a hole in the bottom or side so that you can pop the egg out to get at the goodies inside). I have no idea where she got the pattern, but I can remember finding the whole concept rather fascinating. It seemed like fun to tap into my inner child and work up a series of egg cozies of my own, which I plan to publish in the weeks leading up to Easter. This week, I'll post the Basic pattern for anyone who wants to try the Design Challenge and more variations and patterns will follow. Hope you enjoy, and remember, think spring!

Use whatever yarn
you’d like. I find the multi-color yarns
look especially nice for this project.

Rnd 1: Sc 5 in magic ring OR Sc 2, Sc 5 in the 2nd
chain from the hook

Rnd 2: Inc in each of the 5 sts (10 sts)

Rnd 3: [Inc in one st, Sc in the next] rep 5 times around
(15 sts)

Rnd 4: Sc 15 (15 sts)

Rnd 5: [Inc, Sc in each of the next 2 stitches] rep 5 times
(20 sts)

Rnd 6: Sc 20 (20 sts)

Rnd 7: [Inc, Sc 4] rep 4 times (24 sts)

Rnds 8-10: Sc 24 (24 sts)

Rnd 11: [Dec, Sc 4] rep 4 times (20 sts)

Rnd 12: Sc 20 (20 sts)

Rnd 13: [Hdc Dec, Hdc 8] rep 2 times (18 sts)

Check to make sure
your egg fits inside the cozy, then finish off and weave in ends.

Flower Add-On

Again, use whatever
color you’d like for the flower. I used
purple for the petals and yellow for the center.

Rnd 1: Sc 5 in magic ring OR Sc 2, Sc 5 in the 2nd
chain from the hook

Rnd 2: In each stitch around: Slst, 2 Hdc (15 sts)

Sl st to finish
off. Use contrasting colored yarn to
make a French Knot in the center of the flower. Weave in ends.

Leaves

Use green yarn. Make 2 (or more if desired).

Row 1: Ch 6

Row 2: Working across: Sl st, Sc, 2 Hdc (both in the center
st), Sc, Sl St. Then swivel the piece so
that the row you just worked is on the bottom and repeat Row 2, working back
down the opposite side of the original chain.

Finish off, weave in
ends. Sew your leaves to the egg cozy and then sew the flower centered on top
of them. Refer to the picture as
needed. As always, enjoy, and feel free
to contact me on my blog or at sheepofdelight@gmail.com.
Happy hooking!

Ready to get crafty? Start with my Basic Easter Egg Cozy design and make a cozy of your own. It could turn into a chicken, a duck, a flower, or anything else you want. Post pictures or a link in the comments or send them to me either through the "Contact Me" page or by email at sheepofdelight@gmail.com. Get creative and have fun!